[1] Named after Catholic Saint Hermagoras of Aquileia it originated on July 27, 1851, at the behest of Bishop Anton Martin Slomšek for the purpose of instructing Slovenes in reading and writing.
Authorities formally recognized the organization in 1853 and in 1871 association opened its new building and publishing house.
[2] In 1940 during World War II both the Klagenfurt and Celje locations were closed down by the Nazis, who confiscated the printing presses and destroyed books.
The branch cooperates with the Klagenfurt location in publishing an annual almanac (Slov.
The Celje location, meanwhile, was nationalized after World War II and forced to publish exclusively socialist materials until 1970, when it was reorganized.